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Travel to Kuwait — Unbiased reviews and great
deals from TripAdvisorKuwait
| State of Kuwait National
name: Dawlat al-Kuwayt Emir:
Sheik Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah (2006) Prime Minister: Sheik Nasser Muhammad
al-Ahmad al-Sabah (2006)
Current government officials
Total area: 6,880 sq mi (17,819 sq
km) Population (2007 est.): 2,505,559
(growth rate: 3.6%); birth rate: 22.0/1000; infant mortality rate:
9.5/1000; life expectancy: 77.4; density per sq mi: 364
Capital (2003 est.):
Kuwait, 1,709,800 (metro. area), 32,600 (city
proper) Largest city:
as-Salimiyah, 146,900 Monetary unit:
Kuwaiti dinar (KD)
Languages:
Arabic (official), English
Ethnicity/race:
Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%,
Iranian 4%, other 7%
Religions:
Islam 85% (Sunni 70%, Shiite 30%); Christian,
Hindu, Parsi, and other 15% Literacy
rate: 93.3% (2005 census) Economic
summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $130.1 billion; per capita
$39,300. Real growth rate: 4.6%. Inflation: 5%.
Unemployment: 2.2% (2004 est.). Arable land: 1%.
Agriculture: practically no crops; fish. Labor force:
1.167 million; note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 80% of the labor
force; agriculture n.a., industry n.a., services n.a.
Industries: petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and
repair, desalination, food processing, construction materials.
Natural resources: petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas.
Exports: $59.57 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): oil and refined
products, fertilizers. Imports: $17.74 billion f.o.b. (2007
est.): food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing.
Major trading partners: Japan, South Korea, U.S., Singapore,
Taiwan, Germany, UK, Saudi Arabia, Italy, France, China (2004). Communications: Telephones: main lines in
use: 510,300 (2005); mobile cellular: 2.536 (2006). Radio broadcast
stations: AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998). Radios: 1.175
million (1997). Television broadcast stations: 13 (plus several
satellite channels) (1997). Televisions: 875,000 (1997).
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 2,013 (2007). Internet
users: 816,700 (2006). Transportation:
Railways: 0 km. Highways: total: 5,749 km; paved: 4,887 km;
unpaved: 862 km (2004). Waterways: none. Ports and
harbors: Ash Shu'aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Kuwait, Mina' 'Abd Allah,
Mina' al Ahmadi, Mina' Su'ud. Airports: 7 (2007). International disputes: the Kuwait 1994 land
and Khawr 'Abd Allah channel boundary demarcation ended Iraqi claims
to Kuwait and Bubiyan and Warbah islands; Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are
negotiating maritime boundary with Iran.
Major sources and definitions
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Geography
Kuwait is situated northeast of Saudi Arabia at the northern end of the
Persian Gulf, south of Iraq. It is slightly larger than Hawaii. The
low-lying desert land is mainly sandy and barren.
Government
Kuwait is a constitutional monarchy, governed by the al-Sabah
family.
History
Kuwait is believed to have been part of an early civilization in the
3rd millennium B.C. and to have traded with
Mesopotamian cities. Archeological and historical traces disappeared
around the first millennium B.C. At the
beginning of the 18th century A.D., the 'Anizah
tribe of central Arabia founded Kuwait City, which became an autonomous
sheikdom by 1756. 'Abd Rahim of the al-Sabah became the first sheik, and
his descendants continue to rule Kuwait today. In the late 18th and early
19th centuries, the sheikdom belonged to the fringes of the Ottoman
Empire. Kuwait obtained British protection in 1897 when the sheik feared
that the Turks would expand their hold over the area. In 1961, Britain
ended the protectorate, giving Kuwait independence, but agreed to give
military aid on request. Iraq immediately threatened to occupy the area,
and the British sent troops to defend Kuwait. Soon afterward the Arab
League sent in troops, replacing the British. Iraq's claim was dropped
when the Arab League recognized Kuwait's independence on July 20, 1961.
Kuwait typically followed a neutral and mediatory policy among Arab
states.
Oil was discovered there in the 1930s, and Kuwait proved to have 20% of
the world's known oil resources. Since 1946 it has been the world's
second-largest oil exporter. The sheik, who receives half of the profits,
devotes most of them to the education, welfare, and modernization of his
kingdom. In 1966, Sheik Sabah designated a relative, Jaber al-Ahmad
al-Sabah, as his successor. By 1968, the sheikdom had established a model
welfare state, and it sought to establish dominance among the sheikdoms
and emirates of the Persian Gulf.
In July 1990, Iraqi president Saddam Hussein blamed Kuwait for falling
oil prices. After a failed Arab mediation attempt to solve the dispute
peacefully, Iraq invaded Kuwait on Aug. 2, 1990, set up a pro-Iraqi
provisional government, and drained Kuwait of its economic resources. A
coalition of Arab and Western military forces drove Iraqi troops from
Kuwait in a mere four days, from Feb. 23–27, 1991, ending the Persian Gulf
War. The emir returned to his country from Saudi Arabia in mid-March.
Martial law, in effect since the end of the Gulf War, ended in late June.
The U.S. sent 2,400 troops to the country in Aug. 1992, ostensibly as part
of a training exercise, though it was widely interpreted as a show of
strength to Saddam Hussein. Iraqi “training” maneuvers near the Kuwaiti
border in Oct. 1994 renewed fears of aggression in the country. A Kuwaiti
appeal brought the quick deployment of U.S. and British troops and
equipment.
In 1999, the emir gave women the right to vote and run for parliament,
but later that year parliament defeated the ruler's decree. Kuwaiti
society has grown increasingly conservative under the influence of Islamic
fundamentalists. In 2003, traditionalists won a sweeping victory in
parliamentary elections. The emir and crown prince (who served as prime
minister) were elderly and ailing; in July 2003, the country's de facto
leader, foreign minister Sheik Sabah, replaced the crown prince as prime
minister.
In May 2005, Kuwait abandoned its 1999 ban on women's suffrage, and in
June a woman was appointed to the cabinet. In April 2006, women voted for
the first time. Saudi Arabia is now the only country with suffrage that
does not allow its women to vote.
In Jan. 2006, the emir, Sheik Jabir, died. His cousin, Crown Prince
Sheik Saad, briefly became the nation's ruler, but he was forced to
abdicate because of extremely ill health. The prime minister, Sheik Sabah,
was then nominated and unanimously confirmed by parliament as emir. Sheik
Sabah named his brother, Sheik Nawaf, as crown prince, and his nephew,
Sheik Nasser, as prime minister.
Prime Minister Sheik Nasser Muhammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah dissolved the
opposition-led parliament in March 2008 and called for new elections.
See also Encyclopedia: Kuwait
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes:
Kuwait
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education,
Inc. All rights reserved.
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